Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Audition Preparation

With audition season coming up I feel like every time I look on my FaceBook newsfeed I see something about orchestral excerpt preparation. In lue of that, I was looking for a bit of wisdom myself as I prepare the Suk Fantasticke Scherzo and the 3rd and 4th movements of Dvorak's 8th symphony for my own orchestral audition. This video that I stumbled upon is top-notch and gives some helpful hints for performance practice and excerpt preparation from one of the best orchestral cellists in the world.


Here are a few other tips:

  1. Slow It Down - Take out the rhythm and play each not for two beats at 60bpm. This practice method will rock your world! Your shifts will be absolutely solid!
  2. Use Your Metronome - It's amazing to see how the rhythms come into place as soon as you identify where the down beat is.
  3.  Play for Peers - Practicing/performing in front of people always helps me identify which passages I don't feel comfortable with and which passages unravel when nerves are present
  4. Listen - Find the music on Spotify or buy it off of iTunes and listen to the passages over and over again. This will aid you immensely when it comes to comfortability and ear recall. 
Good luck, all!

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